Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra -- Blue Blazes (Oliver), Vocalion 1939 (USA) NOTE: James Melvin ("Jimmie") LUNCEFORD - (1902 -- 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era. Born in Fulton, Mississippi as son of a choirmaster in Warren, Ohio, before the family moved to Denver. He went to high school in Denver and studied music under Wilberforce J. Whiteman, father of Paul Whiteman. He continued his studies at Fisk University where he played alto saxophone in a local band led by George Morrison which included Andy Kirk, another musician destined for fame as a bandleader. In 1927, while teaching at Manassas High School in Memphis, Tennessee, Lunceford organized a student band, the Chickasaw Syncopators, whose name was changed to the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra when it began touring. In years 1927-30 they made their first recordings and after a period of touring, in 1934 the band accepted a booking at The Cotton Club in Harlem. Lunceford's orchestra, with their tight musicianship and often outrageous humor in their music and lyrics made an ideal band for the club. Lunceford's stage shows often included costumes, skits, and obvious jabs at mainstream white jazz bands, such as Paul Whiteman's and Guy Lombardo's. Despite the band's comic veneer, Lunceford always maintained professionalism in the music and during the apex of swing in the 1930s, the Orchestra was considered the equal of Duke Ellington's, Earl Hines' or Count Basie's. Lunceford often used a conducting baton to lead his band. They toured Europe in 1937, but had to cancel a second tour in 1939 because of the outbreak of World War II. On July 12, 1947, while playing in Seaside, Oregon, Lunceford collapsed and died from cardiac arrest during an autograph session, aged 45. In 1999, band-leader Robert Veen set out to acquire permission to use the original band charts and arrangements of the Jimmie Lunceford canon. The Jimmie Lunceford Legacy Orchestra officially debuted in July 2005 at the North Sea Jazz Festival. With the aim of increasing recognition of Lunceford's contribution to jazz, The Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival was founded in 2007 by Ron Herd II in Memphis, Tennessee.